Before I start, let me address the misnomer in the title of this post. The Globe is not in Wrigleyville. I'm laying waste to the strictures of TMS; to hell with the rules! The Globe is actually located in the North Center neighborhood. No offense intended to the locals.Who you'll see here: Brits, Irishmen, assorted Europeans, men with scarves.
If you were to see a celebrity here, it would be: Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham
About 15 months ago I allowed myself to be lured into the beautiful world of soccer. My basic knowledge of the grand game directed me toward the English Premier League, as opposed to our ridiculously inferior Major League Soccer. After consulting a collection of the best soccer blogs and fielding the opinions of fans, I decided to throw my less-than-considerable weight behind Everton FC.
Two weekends ago, I was gearing up to fly out to Chicago to catch up with fellow Bartender Chaim Witz. After realizing that Chaim receives neither Fox Soccer Channel nor Setanta, I scoured the Internets for a reputable bar in which to take in the Everton v. West Brom tilt. This is when I stumbled on The Globe's website. I notified Chaim that we would need to be at the bar at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, wives and hangovers be damned! Well, the wives relented; however, the hangovers got the best of us. After waking up at 6:00, we both agreed that we should forego the Everton match, grab a few more winks, and catch the 9:00 a.m. games.
When we arrived at The Globe at 9:00, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool fans were occupying all of the tables but one, choking down coffee, hurling out obscenities. The back room was cordoned off for the Chelsea game, while Arsenal fans were seated in the front. Liverpool fans were relegated to watching their match on the smaller plasmas over the bar, deservingly on mute. Turns out The Globe is an Everton-friendly bar (Liverpool and Everton are much bigger crosstown rivals than the Cubs and White Sox). The waitress immediately asked us which club we were there to see so that she could seat us accordingly. When I told her that we were regrettably late for the Everton match, she offered to either tell me the score or put the match on for me (God bless DVR in bars). I took the bait at the score (Everton won 2-0), and when the 9:00 a.m. matches were over, she re-played the Everton game for me.
This bar is the balls not only for soccer and the friendly staff, but it serves as a quality drinking hole as well. Christ, look at the comprehensive beer list here. After a couple coffees, I moved on to Harp. TMS Bartender Dave Thomas met up with us as well, and proceeded to tackle the Dogfishhead 90 Min IPA. Chaim pulled his best impression of a mid-life crisis by ordering a steady stream of Bloody Mary's. The food was pretty decent to boot. The eggs Florentine were top notch, and the country potatoes were perfectly bronzed, like Matthew McConaughey's chest.
All in all, this was a great bar, though I'll admit it was morning, and I'll have to retrace my steps at night. However, if you want soccer, I couldn't think of a better place. I intend to make it a weekend morning ritual every time I'm in Chicago. I envy Chaim for having such easy access to The Globe.
ThunderMatt Rating: 10 Bass Ales out of a 12-pack, since it's technically not in Wrigleyville, and I'm not sure if the Cubs take any sort of priority when soccer is on (I would guess not).
0 comments:
Post a Comment